Audio By Carbonatix
Gabby Thomas did not perform well during the first Grand Slam Track meet in the United States. A creepy heckler might’ve played a role in her poor showing after he followed her around the track throughout the entire weekend to brag about his gambling.
The series has since opened an investigation into the unruly behavior, though I admittedly don’t know what they can do other than ban the man from future events.
Thomas, who won three gold medals in track and field at the Paris Olympics, ran only two events at the Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia. She placed second in the 200-meter and fourth in the 100. It was a disappointing result but she left the City of Brotherly Love with gratitude.
In response to the post, an X user by the name of @mr100kaday commented with his gambling winnings. The anonymous account bragged that his unruly harassment throughout the meet was the catalyst for Thomas’ results and included screenshots of his successful parlay bets on FanDuel Sportsbook, which won him more than $2,000. He also post a video of the things he said to her at the starting line.
I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win.
— @mr100kaday / X
The man can be heard calling Thomas a “choke artist” and referenced the fact that Thomas, who is Black, is engaged to a white man. He celebrated Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who is also Black, for marrying a fellow Black man earlier this year. People around him were put off by his boisterous taunts.
In addition to the comment under Thomas’ post, the heckler posted the same video and screenshots in a separate post. He tagged Thomas, Jefferson-Wooden and Grand Slam Track.
I want to thank mellissa jefferson (sic) for beating the crap out of gabby thomas at Grand Slam Track and getting me rich!!!!
— @mr100kaday / X
A third post featured a similar caption.
Nice to heckle gabby thomas today and make her lose. It was my pleasure.
— @mr100kaday / X
Gabby Thomas was not going to bring attention to the heckler until he decided to comment on her post. That opened the door to put him on blast.
This grown man followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans (mostly children) shouting personal insults. Anybody who enables him online is gross.
— @itsgabbyt / X
Grand Slam Track issued a statement about the incident. It will conduct a full investigation.
Grand Slam Track is conducting a full investigation into the reprehensible behavior captured on video. We are working to identify the individual involved and will take appropriate action as necessary. We will implement additional safeguards to help prevent incidents like this in the future. Let us be clear, despicable behavior like this will not be tolerated.
— Grand Slam Track
I would imagine @mr100kaday will be banned from all future Grand Slam events. I will be interested to see if other leagues/series/circuits follow suit. He should not be allowed near a track!